Phuket Fitness Center Goes Bust

[LivinginKata]

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Phuket fitness center goes bust

NO WORKOUT: The scene outside Easy Fitness in Phuket on April 30.

PHUKET: Members of the Easy Fitness Center on Chao Fa West Road in Phuket were left without a gym on April 30, when repossession teams, under police supervision, seized fitness equipment valued at several million baht, forcing the center to close.

The center, which opened in 2005, offered a variety of fitness classes with membership fees ranging from Bt7,200 for three months to Bt24,000 for two years.

Almost 2,000 members lost their Bt4,000 joining fee following the closure, with one couple losing Bt26,500 after joining shortly before it was shut down.

In an effort to recoup their losses, seven members filed charges against center Managing Directors Yvon Van Eyersen and his wife Siripon Sanpat at Phuket City Police Station on May 30.

Case Officer Umporn Musikpan told the Gazette that an arrest warrant for Mr Van Eyersen was issued over a month ago for a separate incident involving alleged misappropriation of around Bt6 million of customer investments in his Phuket Patong Asset Company.

Mr Van Eyersen cannot leave Thailand as his passport has already been seized by Phuket Provincial Court, he added.

Problems at Phuket Fitness started when the center defaulted on payments owed to equipment supplier Seara Sports International (SSI).

Mr CJ Prieur, General Manager of SSI for Southern Thailand, said that the company furnished Easy Fitness with equipment worth several million baht.

“We arranged a payment plan, but after only three months they missed a payment. Then payments became scattered and finally stopped. We were promised more payments would follow, but they never came. We just wanted to be paid. It was a good fitness center, but we had no choice other than repossessing the equipment to try and re-sell to another buyer and recoup the money owed to us,” he added.

Repossession teams, police and SSI lawyers entered the center at 10am on April 30 and immediately began dismantling equipment. Crowds gathered as a crane loaded the equipment onto pickup trucks.

Phuket resident and Easy Fitness member for two-and-a-half years Mrs Gabi Coffin was in the middle of a yoga class when repossession teams entered the center.

“My instructor ended the class and we went out into the gym where about 25 burly men were removing the equipment. Members and employees had not been informed or given notification of closure. Our yoga teacher burst into tears as she watched the men take the gym apart.” Mrs Coffin said adding that many members had lost out.

Other members said that after heading to Fitness Center a few days later, they found a locked, empty gym and a sign on the door with a phone number. Upon calling the number they were told the center was closed due to “financial issues” but would reopen the following week.

The center is still closed, and its owners are unreachable.

“The members have been cheated. This is not a good thing for the Phuket community, they deserve justice,” Mrs Coffin added. – Khunakorn Terdkiatkhachorn

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-06-11

[pagallim]

I think the most significant aspect to this was the lack of honesty on the part of the business owners, allowing people to subscribe to what appeared to be a valid product, and obviously knowing that closure was imminent. My next door neighbour was actually in the gym the day the equipment was removed, and told me about the feeling of shock of everyone present. The most surprising aspect in all of this though, is that it's taken the PG nearly 6 weeks to comment (given it was the subject of quite a long thread in this forum at the time).

[zorro1]

"In an effort to recoup their losses, seven members filed charges against center Managing Directors Yvon Van Eyersen and his wife Siripon Sanpat at Phuket City Police Station on May 30."

Throwing good money after bad!

Edited June 11, 2009 by zorro1

[steelepulse]

From what I understand, the owner, after defaulting on payments, transferred everything over to the wife in a dodgy move to avoid legal proceedings.  Just scuttlebut of course.

[zorro1]

Thats dodgy? just goes to show you how well thailand had stood up to global meltdown when a Gym closure gets a thread. Try the real world where CEO'S pay themselves 10 mill bonus whilst sending their companies into liquidation and millions broke. Still not nice losing 25kbht but survivable

[LivinginKata]

Phuket gym closes temporarily

Chalong Gym in Phuket closed recently when the former owner abandoned the fitness center leaving some members out of pocket. The gym is scheduled to re-open on July 7 under new management.

CHALONG, PHUKET: Members of Chalong Gym on Chao Fa East Road in Phuket will be pleased to hear that the popular fitness center’s recent closure is only a temporary measure.

When morning fitness enthusiasts arrived at the gym on June 27, they found the doors locked, and saw that exercise equipment had been removed.

Some members had recently paid new 1,000 baht monthly membership fees with one member saying he had payed 9,000 baht in personal training fees shortly before the gym closed.

The gym was closed by the former American owner, three days prior to the lease agreement on the gym expiring at the end of June.

The gym remains closed for the time being.

Some gym members have filed charges against the former owner and police are inviting members who have lost membership fees to file reports in person at Chalong Police Station against the former owner.

Police Major Jarun Bangprasert told the Gazette that the former owner told his customers he was going to extend his rental contract. “He did not do this, but he still took money from his customers for new memberships,” he said.

“The former owner then moved all the exercise machines out of the gym without notifying his customers,” Major Jarun added.

The gym now has a new owner and management. The gym’s new General Manager said that she hoped the gym would be open again by July 7.

She added that members who have lost out on fees already paid to the former owner would be able to discuss a two-week waiver on any new charges when the gym re-opens.

New fitness equipment is currently being installed at the gym as the new owners hurry to get he place ready in time for the promised re-opening date.

This is the second Phuket gym to close its doors within the past two months. The Easy Fitness Center on Chao Fa West Road near Central Festival Phuket closed in late April. – Fraser Morton & Khunakorn Terdkiatkhachorn

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-07-04

[ScubaBuddha]

Too bad. It used to be a good gym. It was very obvious this was going to happen. The equipment was increasingly derelict. Most of the machines didn't work, and the treadmills that did work were dangerous. The staff were just awful, always closing early. The aircon hasn't worked for weeks. I had to quit this gym before my membership expired it got so bad. The shiny 21" rims sure look nice on the owners Fortuner though!!! Hopefully the new owner(s) will turn it around.

Edited July 9, 2009 by Scubabuddha